


greek tragedy

by vapeman



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Light Angst, Living Together, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Recreational Drug Use, Sapnap is oblivious, Slow Burn, Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are Siblings, au where they aren't streamers, dream is an IDIOT, george is done with them both, no beta we die like ranboo when he plays rust
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:00:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28903044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vapeman/pseuds/vapeman
Summary: This is how it starts.They’ve been on the phone for hours, long after George left the call. Sapnap is talking about college, about how he wants to take a gap year because school is justso fucking much, dude-And then Sapnap says:“Get an apartment with me.”or, Dream and Sapnap move in together after being internet friends for nearly a decade. It brings up more emotions than Dream expects.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 68
Kudos: 410





	1. smashing mics

_“Get an apartment with me.”_

This is how it starts. They’ve been on the phone for hours, long after George left the call. They’ve been doing this almost every night, for nearly nine years now. Dream is leaned back in his desk chair, twisting his headphone cord around his fingers. Sapnap is talking about college, about how he wants to take a gap year because school is just _so fucking much, dude._ Which, yeah, duh. There’s a reason Dream never even bothered applying. But he makes sympathetic noises, and laughs at Sapnap’s dramatics. He even offers his input, which mostly boils down to _do whatever makes you happy, Sapnap._

And then Sapnap says:

“Get an apartment with me.” 

And that- well, that makes Dream pause. His headphone cord slips in a loose spiral from his fingers, falling back into his lap. 

It’s something they’ve talked about before. Of course they’ve talked about it before. They’ve been best friends for years, and there were times when the distance between them was crushing. There were nights where state lines felt like a noose around Dream’s neck. There were nights where it pulled so tight he could barely breathe. 

Of course they’ve talked about living together before. 

But it was always almost a joke, always just to the left of reality. Always _if we lived together, Patches would love me more than you_ or _if we lived together, I’d put everything on the highest shelf just so you couldn’t reach it._ This time, Sapnap says it and it feels _real._ It feels so shockingly real that Dream doesn’t even know how to respond. 

For a moment, there’s just silence, heavy and true.

Dream thinks about it, _really_ thinks about. He tries to imagine himself in fucking Texas before he realizes he doesn’t actually know anything about Texas. So instead, he tries to imagine himself living with Sapnap. He thinks about how they’d be able to watch movies together, play games in the same room. He thinks about how Sapnap’s voice would carry and echo through the space, _their_ space. 

“Dude? Are you still there?” 

He thinks about Sapnap and he’s struck with the sudden weight of longing, of wanting this. He thinks, maybe, he’s always wanted this and just needed Sapnap to say it first.

“Okay,” he says, and it’s a miracle his voice doesn’t crack around the word, “Let’s do it.” 

Maybe this is how it really starts. Maybe it actually starts three months later, after a shiny new apartment address is sent to Dream’s phone and plane tickets are purchased. Maybe it actually starts when Dream steps off the plane and into the suffocating heat of Houston, Texas. 

Or maybe it starts here, Dream’s hands clutched around the straps of his backpack as he surveys the sea of people around him and realizes he can pick Sapnap out of the crowd with ease. Mostly because Sapnap is jumping and waving and holding a cardboard sign that reads DADDY DREAM in big block letters. 

“You’re so embarrassing!” Dream calls as soon as he’s within shouting distance. He’s smiling, though, so hard that it hurts. 

Sapnap doesn’t even respond, he just charges at Dream and nearly sends them both to the ground. He’s giggling, wrapping himself around Dream’s torso like a vice and squeezing until Dream is sure his ribs are going to crack. 

“Hi,” Dream wheezes, and Sapnap just tightens his grip like Dream could slip away at any second. “ _Hi,_ Sapnap.” 

His voice does crack this time, and that’s okay. He thinks it’s understandable. This is the first time they’ve ever met in person and it’s not just a visit. He doesn’t only get to be here for a week, or even a month. He gets to be here for a whole year, _at least._

“Hi,” Sapnap finally says, and it comes out much quieter than Dream expects. He can’t see Sapnap’s face while it’s tucked so tightly against his shoulder, but he can feel the smile pressed against his hoodie. He rests his chin on Sapnap’s head and wraps his arms over Sapnap’s shoulders. When Sapnap gives him another squeeze, he squeezes back. It feels right, like they’ve been doing this for years. 

Dream thinks they should’ve been. He can’t believe they went this long without ever seeing each other. It feels so easy, so glaringly obvious now, that they were meant to exist just like this; within reach of each other. 

Yeah, maybe this is where it starts. With them holding each other in an airport terminal, the whole world turning slowly around them. And all at once, it feels like Dream has made the best decision of his life. 

“Dude.” 

“What?” Sapnap laughs, then laughs harder when he looks up at Dream’s face, “ _What,_ dude?”

“This place is so shitty.” 

Dream kicks the front door of the apartment closed and leans his backpack against the wall. Sapnap insisted on carrying his duffel bag for him, and the rest of his things aren’t arriving until tomorrow. 

“What? No, it’s not!” Sapnap gestures to the living room, “Look, it’s furnished!” 

Dream grimaces, “That couch looks like it has, like, rabies. And the TV is on the _floor._ ”

“It’s minimalist,” Sapnap shrugs. He hefts Dream’s duffel bag over his shoulder and treks deeper into the apartment. “You’re room even has a window! Dream, your _very own window._ ” 

“Lucky me,” he follows Sapnap down the hall, past a small dark bathroom, to a bedroom with a mattress pushed into the far corner. There’s at least a dresser and a desk as well, though Dream’s pretty sure the desk might collapse if he looks at it for too long. 

Sapnap drops his bag onto the mattress with a laugh. That’s one thing Dream noticed immediately; Sapnap has hardly stopped laughing since they left the airport. Like just the fact of Dream being there was something to be delighted about. He feels warm with the thought, different from the heat seeping into the room from outside. Before he knows it, he’s laughing too.

The apartment truly is shitty. It turns out Sapnap gave himself the bigger room, but Dream’s is the only one with a fan. The bathroom is possibly the ugliest thing Dream has ever seen, covered wall to wall in sickly green tile. Even the fucking bathtub is green, and the showerhead is set just low enough to be annoying. 

(Sapnap almost falls over laughing at that, watching Dream awkwardly duck under it to see if he could even fit.) 

The kitchen doesn’t have a window and the lightbulb is burnt out, which makes it look like a dark gloomy cave compared to the rest of the apartment. It feels like every other floorboard creaks as they wander the apartment and when Dream finally works up the courage to sit on the couch, it groans under his weight. 

The apartment is truly shitty. It’s awful, it’s ugly, and he should hate it. But that evening, Sapnap pulls out the ingredients for pasta. They turn on the flashlights on their phones, and cackle as they trip over each other in the dark. That evening, they eat pasta on the awful couch while a cheesy horror movie plays on the TV that’s half-hidden behind the coffee table. That evening, Dream can’t even pretend to be annoyed, or disgusted, or even the slightest bit disappointed. 

Craning his neck to see the screen over the edge of the table, Sapnap chewing noisily next to him, Dream is exactly where he wants to be.


	2. method acting

Dream knows he’s loud. It’s just who he is. He fidgets, he stims, he fills every silence with near-constant _noise_. Humming and mumbling and random other sounds that itch the part of his brain that craves motion. He knows he’s loud. 

But Sapnap, Sapnap is an entirely different beast. He’s unignorable in his presence. His personality is so big it fills the apartment, bursts at the seams. Dream is sure it would be overwhelming if it was anyone other than Sapnap. 

He sings in the shower, over the screech of the hot water pipe. He clatters around in the kitchen, humming the whole time. He coos at Patches every time she's in his line of sight. His laugh carries down the hall. Dream feels like he can hear Sapnap’s _smile_ through the walls. It reminds Dream of when they would spend nearly all day on the phone just to hear each other. They wouldn’t even talk, there was just something comforting about the clack of Sapnap’s keyboard in the background while he worked. Those days, Dream would fall asleep with his phone next to his pillow so he could hear Sapnap tossing and turning in his sleep. 

This is so much better than that. 

“Dream, if you play Working Bitch one more time, I’m actually gonna knock you the fuck out.” 

Dream just grins, reaching for his phone to turn up the volume. It’s his turn to cook breakfast, a small routine they’ve quietly set over the past few weeks, and it’s still early enough that the sunlight pouring in to the living room hasn’t reached the kitchen threshold. He spins around their kitchen, bobbing his head and swaying along to the music in the grey light. When he turns to face Sapnap, he swings a spatula towards him in lieu of a microphone. 

Sapnap remains unamused, arms crossed as he leans against the kitchen door frame, “Seriously? This is, like, the fourth day in a row. Turn that shit off.” 

“Fuck off!” Dream laughs, “You can’t disrespect Ashnikko like that. I’m on my-” he cuts himself off with a wheeze, “I’m on my grind.” 

“You’re on _something_ ,” Sapnap mutters, but Dream can see the way his lips twitch upwards. Dream just keeps laughing and doesn’t even bother to argue when Sapnap snatches his phone to change the song. 

It was easy living with Sapnap, really. Dream isn’t sure what he expected but it wasn’t this. 

Of course, there are awkward moments. That’s just how it is with new roommates. It took a few days for their schedules to settle. There are empty fumbling minutes as Dream waits for Sapnap to finish showering, and odd moments where neither of them really know if they’re supposed to talk when they pass each other in the hall. Dream learned quickly that Sapnap is nearly nocturnal, often up long after Dream has gone to bed. Somehow, though, he’s never late for breakfast. 

But for the most part, living together is easy, it’s simple, it’s right. It’s like they’re perfectly in sync. Even now, as Dream finishes cooking breakfast, Sapnap has already set two plates by the stove for him. He splits the eggs and bacon between the two then grabs his own plate to bring with him to the couch.

“Behind you,” Sapnap warns, and Dream hums in acknowledgement. He moves to press himself closer to the counter, trying to step out of Sapnap’s way when- 

There’s a hand settling on the small of his back. It’s a firm, warm touch and suddenly Sapnap is _right there_. He leans around Dream, shoulder brushing his own, to pick up his plate. He’s struck still by how scalding the touch feels, hyper aware of the way Sapnap’s thumb presses against one of the knobs of his spine. It’s not- it’s not bad, no, Dream doesn’t dislike it-

And just like that, it’s over. Sapnap pulls away, taking his food with him. Dream stares after him as he leaves the kitchen. Like nothing happened, like that wasn’t- 

And Dream realizes that it _wasn’t_ anything. Not really. Nothing happened, it didn’t mean anything. They’re best friends. Sapnap is a cuddly guy. Of course, Sapnap is going to touch him. It’s not a big deal. 

Dream stands there for a long time, staring at the empty kitchen and feeling strangely colder, until Sapnap calls his name from the living room. 

“Oh, so you’re allowed to play Jack Harlow but I’m not allowed to play Ashnikko?” Dream scowls. They’ve been living together for a month now and three days ago Sapnap placed an official ban on Ashnikko being played while he’s within earshot. 

Sapnap smiles, not even taking his eyes off the road, “Yeah, Dream, that’s how it works.” 

Crossing his arms and slouching into the passenger seat, Dream mutters, “That is so unfair.” 

“You can pout all you want, I’m not passing you the aux cord.”

Dream absolutely does not pout, but he does sink even further into his seat. Even while glaring out the window, Dream can tell Sapnap is making that stupid smug face he makes every time he thinks he’s won an argument. He wishes he could say it actually bothers him. 

Another unspoken tradition they’ve formed is this. Long, aimless, late-night drives around the city. Sapnap told him once that he loved driving at night with his music blasting, that it was kind of therapeutic in a way. The next time Dream saw him getting ready to leave for a drive, he asked if he could go with and Sapnap lit up so brightly that Dream was blinded for a moment. Now, Sapnap just has to knock on his bedroom door, and Dream follows without a word spoken between them. 

This, though, sparks many petty arguments over who gets to pick the music. Many of which end with Sapnap’s rap playlist thrumming through the car while Dream whines from the passenger seat. 

“Houston is actually, like, really pretty at night,” Dream admits, after a comfortable silence. He immediately feels dumb for saying it. “I mean, like, not _really_ pretty but-” 

Sapnap turns to him with another one of those bright smiles, the ones that tend to stop Dream in his tracks. “I told you, dude! Night drives are the best.” 

Dream chuckles, “Yeah. Yeah, this is really fun actually.” 

He looks out his open window, watches the neon signs smear by as they drive through downtown. It’s nice out, cool wind blasting through the rolled down windows. The stereo is cranked high enough that the bass shakes the car and it’s- yeah. It’s nice. It’s really nice. It’s the kind of thing Dream wishes he could do forever, the kind of thing he wishes never had to end. 

“Oh, _shit!_ ” 

The car jerks to a sudden stop and for a second Dream expects to be choked by the seat belt. Instead, Sapnap has thrown a hand out, pushing Dream back into his seat. Dream blinks, staring blankly at the car that’s just cut them off as it speeds down the street. 

Sapnap huffs a nervous laugh, pressing the gas again. “Sorry, the traffic here is still shit. You okay?” 

“Uh, yeah. I’m okay,” Dream answers, still shaken from the surprise but also from the hand that’s still pressed to his chest. 

Sapnap laughs, “Your heart is beating so fast, dude.” 

For some reason, Dream feels embarrassed. His ears burn as he forces himself to laugh it off, “Yeah. I, uh, was just caught off guard, I guess.”

He scrambles to gather his composure, plastering on a grin, “I kind of figured you wouldn’t, like, try to kill me the second I got in your car.” 

“Fuck off!” Sapnap shouts with a smile. His eyes are back on the road now, a little more alert as they continue coasting through the city, “I’m a good driver. The people here are just-” 

And Dream doesn’t really hear the rest of Sapnap’s sentence. He’s too distracted by Sapnap’s hand, which has drifted from his chest. He expects Sapnap to put it back on the wheel, but instead Sapnap drops his hand to the center console and links his fingers with Dream’s. 

Dream stares for a moment at their tangled fingers. He’s convinced now that Sapnap just runs warmer than most people. His hand is almost unbearably warm, but Dream doesn’t pull away. He doesn’t know why he fixates on the feeling of the callouses on the tips of Sapnap’s fingers, how they scratch against the skin of his knuckles, but once he notices he can’t stop noticing. 

He realizes he’s staring at their hands like a fucking idiot, but when he jerks his gaze up, Sapnap is still looking at the road. His mouth is curved into a gentle smile, and he’s humming along to the music. 

It’s not a big deal, Dream tells himself. It’s not, it’s really not. It doesn’t mean anything, and he needs to stop freaking out every time Sapnap touches him before Sapnap notices and _stops-_

It’s not a big deal. It’s not. It’s not. 

The thing is, though- 

The thing is that Sapnap doesn’t stop touching Dream. 

If anything, he starts touching Dream even more. A week later, after Dream gets sick of having their TV on the fucking floor and moves it to the coffee table, they’re watching a movie together. It’s late enough that Dream can feel his eyes burn as he watches the screen. He’s not really paying attention; they’ve been marathoning the Bond movies but only the early ones are funny enough to keep him interested. 

He switches between staring blearily at the screen to checking his phone. Sapnap is doing the same next to him, occasionally barking a laugh at whatever’s happening on screen. Whenever George texts their group chat, Sapnap prods at Dream until he helps him come up with a good insult. 

It’s one of these moments that it happens. Dream is leaning into Sapnap’s space, watching him draft another text to George, and Sapnap slings his free arm around Dream’s shoulders. Dream manages not to react, pretends he doesn’t notice as Sapnap sends the text, and laughs at George’s immediate, furious response. 

It only becomes hard for Dream to ignore when he tries to move back to his original spot on the couch and Sapnap just tugs him closer. Dream may be tall, taking up space with his long legs and gangly arms, but Sapnap is _strong_. He tugs at Dream, arm curling briefly around the side of Dream’s neck until Dream is settled right against his side. 

It’s comfortable, really. Sapnap is warm and solid and his hoodie is soft against Dream’s cheek, but it feels like Dream’s entire body lights up at every point of contact. They’re pressed together from thigh to shoulder and Dream is aware of every inch. 

It’s not- it’s not a problem. It really isn’t. Dream likes physical affection; he likes hugs, likes clapping his friends on the shoulder, or ruffling their hair just to piss them off. He doesn’t know why it’s only Sapnap who makes him react like this. It’s only Sapnap who makes him feel like he’s on pins and needles every time they so much as brush shoulders in the kitchen. 

He doesn’t think it’s discomfort though. He’s comfortable around Sapnap, he is. Sapnap is his _best friend_. If he wasn’t comfortable around Sapnap he wouldn’t even be here. So it has to be something else, it has to be-

Sapnap jostles him when he cackles at something onscreen. Dream isn’t sure what it was, but Sapnap’s laugh is infectious, and it’s easy to laugh along as if he was still paying attention to the movie. And just like that, everything’s normal again. He begs his brain to shut the fuck up, and for once it actually listens. 

Sapnap falls asleep long before the credits roll, his arm limp and heavy around Dream’s shoulders. Dream extracts himself carefully, and then tosses the blanket they keep on the couch over Sapnap’s lap. 

He tells himself he’s going to bed because he’s fucking exhausted, but when he actually lays down he finds himself just staring at the ceiling. 

He doesn’t sleep much. He doesn’t sleep much at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my goal is to update every two days ! thank u fr reading ilu <3


	3. hot pursuit

Over the next few months, Dream adjusts. He gets more used to Sapnap always being within arms reach. He gets better at telling his brain to _fuck right off_ whenever Sapnap holds his hand or leans against him on the couch. And it works. Things feel normal again, settle back into that comfortable laziness of just being happy with his life. It works. 

Well, it mostly works. 

It works until, one morning, Dream notices something new. 

It’s Sapnap’s turn to cook breakfast. He’s making pancakes and frying the last of the bacon. Dream is perched on the counter, knocking one heel against the cabinet below him. They’ve been playing music long enough that it’s drifted away from their usual playlists. A slow croony cover of Michelle fills the kitchen, and they both sleepily sway along. Dream mouths the words, trying to remember when exactly he learned the lyrics.

It’s a nice morning, slow and lazy. They’ll probably spend a while on the couch, lounging and half-watching cartoons until Dream finally drags himself back to his computer to work. 

Sapnap doesn’t know the song as well, but every time it gets to the chorus, the pitch of his hums rise to an off-tune whine. Every time it happens, Dream can’t help but laugh a little, which makes Sapnap smile sheepishly down at the stove. He doesn’t stop though, and some odd little part of Dream is grateful for that. 

Dream made a rule for himself to stop staring at Sapnap. It was weird of him, and awkward the few times Sapnap has caught him, so he’s trying to quit the habit. He doesn’t even know why he does it. So instead of watching Sapnap, soft and loose with sleep at the stove, he scrolls mindlessly through Twitter. He finds a thread of Wilbur and his little brother, Tommy, bitching at each other and it makes him laugh. He smothers the sound against his knuckles as he likes each tweet. 

It takes a minute for him to notice that the kitchen has gone quiet. The music is still playing, the bacon still crackling in the pan, but Sapnap has gone oddly silent. Dream looks up only to find Sapnap staring. 

Sapnap is staring at _him_. 

His hand is slack around the spatula, his lips parted like he was just about to say something. His eyes are- Dream doesn’t know. He looks very suddenly awake, alert as if Dream has just done something shocking. 

But there’s something else, something infinitely fond and weighted and- 

And he doesn’t know. He’s never seen Sapnap look like this. There’s something there that makes him flash hot all over, something heavy and burning and weirdly terrifying. For a split second, Dream feels like he’s standing on the edge of a cliff, on the cusp of something. 

“What’s up?” Dream asks, and his voice sounds strangled even to his own ears. 

Sapnap jolts like he didn’t realize Dream had noticed him. He seems to flounder for a moment.

“Uh, I-” 

Dream doesn’t know when the song changed, but he does notice when Ashnikko’s voice cuts through the kitchen. Sapnap’s face drops so immediately that Dream collapses into heaving laughter. 

“Holy shit!” He wheezes, clutching at his stomach. He nearly falls off the counter, scrambling to grip the edge. 

Sapnap nearly howls, exaggerating his rage, as he fumbles to skip the song. When he steps back towards the stove, he whines. 

“Dude! You made me burn the bacon.” He frowns, prodding at the pan which has started to lightly smoke. That only makes Dream laugh harder, finally slipping off the counter so he can double over. 

Just like that, the odd, suffocating tension evaporates and stays gone for the rest of the morning. They eat pancakes and charred bacon on the couch, while Sapnap channel surfs to find the morning cartoons. 

It isn’t until Dream holes up in his room to work on a coding commission that he thinks about it again. He wonders what that was, that look that made him feel like he was burning alive. 

He wonders what Sapnap was going to say. 

He guesses it doesn’t really matter. He doesn’t know why it would. 

Dream is already on the Minecraft server when Wilbur logs in. It’s Dream’s server, one he started a few years ago so that he, Sapnap, and George could play together. As the years went by, they’ve let a handful of their friends join. 

He’s setting up to go netherite mining, picking through George’s chests for everything he needs. Even after three years, he still hasn’t bothered to build his own house. At this point, he’s just doing it because he thinks it’s funny when George calls him a freeloader. 

Sapnap has rolled his own desk chair into Dream’s room. It’s pushed so close to Dream’s that the armrests are tangled, locking the two chairs together. Sapnap is trying to convince Dream to boobytrap George’s house when Wilbur calls him.

“Hey, Wilbur,” Dream greets.

There’s a sniffle and then a stuffy reply, “I’m not Wilbur, bitch.” 

Dream blinks then looks at Sapnap, who’s equally confused. “Uh, Tommy?” 

“Hello, Dream,” Tommy greets, sounding much too pleased with himself. 

“Tommy, why are you on Wilbur’s account?”

Tommy ignores the question, and Dream can hear the furious clicking of keys. “Dream, is it true you and Sapnap moved in together?” he asks, as if Dream hadn’t spoken. 

Sapnap leans in closer so that the mic will pick up his voice, “Yeah, it is.”

There’s a yelp of surprise and then a long beat of silence before Tommy speaks again. “ _Hello_ , Sapnap,” he says, with so much reluctance that Dream snickers. 

“Hi, Tommy,” Sapnap grins. They’ve only spoken to Wilbur’s brother a few times, but already Tommy has decided that he doesn’t like Sapnap and needs to remind everyone of that as much as possible. 

Tommy sniffles into the mic again. “I don’t like you, Sapnap,” he states, and Sapnap giggles. 

“Aw, Tommy! I love you too.”

Tommy scoffs, “Dream, why couldn’t you have picked a better roommate?” 

That startles a laugh out of Dream, “What? What do you mean?” 

When he leaves George’s house, he can see Wilbur’s avatar down the path. Tommy is running around, opening any chest that he comes across. It makes Dream vaguely nervous. Tommy is the epitome of chaos, and Dream has no idea what kind of damage he could do to the server in only one day. Hell, even in an hour. 

“I mean like, you could’ve picked anyone and you picked _Sapnap_? I think Gogy would have been a much better roommate.” He says, with all of the authority a fifteen-year-old can muster. 

Sapnap bursts into another fit of giggles, falling back into his chair. It yanks the both of them to the side, and Dream scrambles for his mouse. 

“Tommy, I didn’t want to move out of the country,” Dream explains patiently. 

“Why wouldn’t you? What’s so great about _America?_ ” Tommy places as much disdain as he can on the word, turning Wilbur’s avatar and stomping towards Dream. 

Dream hums, knowing the best way to rile Tommy up is to give him as little reaction as possible. “I don’t know, Texas is pretty cool.” 

“No, it’s not,” Tommy snaps, sure and matter of fact. 

“How would _you_ know!” Sapnap shouts, and they can both hear Tommy trying to smother his laughter. 

“Tommy,” Dream punches Wilbur’s avatar to get his attention, “why are you on Wilbur's account?” 

“Because Wilbur is a bitch. Do you have any TNT, Dream? I need some TNT. Where do you keep the TNT?”

“I’m not giving you TNT. Why do you- Tommy, stop hitting me!” Dream moves his character back to avoid Tommy trying to hit him with a cobblestone block. 

“ _Give me TNT! Give me TNT!_ ” Tommy chants, chasing Dream and swinging his arm wildly. 

Dream cackles, “Tommy, I don’t have any!” 

Tommy finally relents, turning and running off in a different direction to find what he wants. On the other side of the screen, Sapnap is still laughing. He claps a hand over his mouth and collapses into Dream’s side, shoulders shaking. Dream knows he could just ban Wilbur’s account from the server until Wilbur chases Tommy off, but he kind of wants to see where this goes. And Sapnap seems to be having fun. 

“Dream,” Tommy starts, after ten minutes of grumbling as he hunts down creepers. Dream is now in the Nether, methodically blowing up beds in his search for netherite. Sapnap is still curled in the chair, head tucked against Dream’s shoulder. 

“Yes, Tommy?” 

“Do you have a girlfriend?” 

Dream huffs a ghost of a laugh, “No, Tommy, I don’t have a girlfriend.” 

“Do you have a boyfriend?” Tommy tries, not unkindly. He’s a good kid, and Dream knows he wouldn’t mock him if Dream said yes. 

Not that Dream would say yes. Because he doesn’t. Have a boyfriend, that is. He doesn’t have a boyfriend. 

He feels his ears burn, and he’s glad Sapnap can’t see it from here. 

“No, Tommy,” he answers. 

“Wow,” Tommy says, “so you really are alone aren’t you? You’re such a lonely, lonely man.” 

Sapnap straightens up a little, frowning as if he’s actually offended, “Dream’s not alone! He has me.” 

Dream is pretty sure Sapnap doesn’t mean for that to sound so sharp, so honest. He shoots Sapnap a curious look, but Sapnap is still staring at the screen. Even when Dream bumps him with his shoulder, Sapnap just looks down at his lap instead of at Dream. 

There’s a tense pause before Tommy snorts, “Yeah, _okay_ , Sapnap.” 

They play for a while longer. Dream and Tommy joke back and forth, but Sapnap stays mostly quiet. Dream doesn’t push him on it; it’d be awkward with Tommy in the call anyway. Dream emerges from the Nether to find Tommy placing TNT all over Wilbur’s house, muttering to himself about how Wilbur is going to _lose his shit and cry and then who’s the child-_

“I’m pretty sure it’s still gonna be you,” Sapnap says when he hears that. 

Tommy makes a loud, offended noise, “Alright, listen here you-“ 

Distantly, on Tommy’s side of the call, Dream hears a door open. Sapnap must hear it too because he breaks into a smug grin.

“Tommy?” Wilbur asks, echoing like he’s on the other side of the room. He sounds so genuinely bewildered that Dream and Sapnap both explode into laughter. 

“Oh uh, hey Wilbur!” Tommy greets nervously. 

“What the fuck are you doing in my room?” Wilbur’s voice drifts closer, “Are you playing Minecraft on my account? Tommy, what the fuck?” 

“Wilbur, wait, I can explain-“ 

“Who did you call? Give me the headset-“ 

“ _Ow!_ Wilbur, that hurt! Don’t make me call Phil on you, bitch-“ 

There’s a crash and then Tommy shrieks. Dream can feel tears forming in his eyes as he wheezes and Sapnap is clinging to him as he gasps for air. 

“Bye, Tommy!” Dream calls, when he finally finds his voice. He hangs up on Tommy and Wilbur’s shouting, then quickly logs off the server. 

He and Sapnap sit like that for a long time, slumped into each other and giggling. Every time they start to calm down, one of them bursts into laughter and sets them both off again. 

Sapnap was right, at least. He’s not alone. He’s not lonely at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had way too much fun writing tommy. little gremlin child.


	4. hits like ecstasy

It’s finally cold enough in Houston that Dream is willing to leave the apartment during daylight. This, of course, means that Sapnap spends his day-off dragging Dream around downtown. They mostly window shop; money is a little tight between rent and groceries and Dream isn’t really interested in eating ramen for a week just because he bought a cool t-shirt. 

It’s still fun, though. Sapnap makes it fun. 

They get lunch in a little cafe and spend the whole time kicking each other under the table. When they walk down the street, Sapnap keeps trying to shove him into the gutter, and Dream retaliates by using him as an armrest at every given opportunity. 

It’s easier now, touching Sapnap. He’s come to expect an arm around his shoulder on the couch, a hand linked with his in the car. It’s to the point that it feels weird and lonely on the days that Sapnap leaves for work without tackling Dream in a ferocious bear-hug. 

Sometimes, it’s even Dream who slips his arms through Sapnap’s so that they lock elbows when they walk. Sometimes Dream passes Sapnap on the couch and ruffles a hand through his hair just because he can. Because it makes Sapnap smile and lean his head back like Patches does. 

Dream definitely _doesn’t_ think about those moments. He definitely doesn’t think about how he wants to touch Sapnap; an urge that seems to grow and writhe in him during every waking second. 

He _does_ think about how he’s caught Sapnap staring at him three separate times today. He’s caught brief glances of that heavy, open gaze in the reflections of store windows and passing cars. 

He still doesn’t know what, exactly, it means. But he’s sure now that it definitely means _something_.

Now, Sapnap has a hand fisted in the sleeve of his hoodie, as if he could somehow lose Dream in the crowd if he let go. It’s early in the evening; the days are slowly getting shorter, and the sunset lights up the windows around them with blinding reds and oranges. Dream’s feet ache a little from the amount of walking they’ve done, but Sapnap still seems to be bursting with energy. 

“Do you want to get dinner before we go home?” Sapnap asks. 

Even after six months, the way Sapnap calls their apartment _home_ makes Dream’s chest lurch. Though, this time, the feeling is quickly replaced by creeping dread at the thought of buying dinner. It’s been a few weeks since his last coding commission, and looking at his bank account feels a little like getting punched in the gut. 

“Uh,” Dream flounders for a moment, “I think we have leftovers still, right? We don’t need to eat out.” 

Sapnap pouts, “ _Come on_ , it’ll be my treat.”

Dream ducks his head, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand, “You, uh, you don’t have to do that, Sap.”

Sapnap lets go of Dream’s sleeve, and for a terrifying moment, Dream thinks he’s offended him. But just as quickly, a warm palm slides against his own, familiar fingers slipping between his. 

“Hey, seriously,” Sapnap gives Dream’s hand a squeeze, waiting for Dream to look at him before he continues speaking. “I don’t mind paying, dude. It’s just food, and I’m the one who wanted to show you around downtown. Let me buy you dinner.” 

And it’s- it’s that goddamn _look_ again. Sapnap’s eyes are wide, intense and so serious. It shocks Dream how fast he can flip between the two; from laughing and teasing to being one of the most sincere people Dream has ever met. It’s part of what Dream finds endearing about Sapnap; this wild and unapologetic intensity. 

“Okay,” Dream relents, voice quiet enough that it’s nearly swallowed by the bustle of people around them. He fakes a laugh, trying to lighten the mood, “It feels like you’re trying to ask me out on a date or something.” 

Sapnap laughs, moving with purpose now as he leads Dream to whichever restaurant he’s set his mind on. He swings their hands back and forth like a child, “Damn, you figured out my plan. I’ve been trying to seduce you this whole time, _Daddy Dream_.” 

Dream wheezes, trying to extract his hand from Sapnap’s, “ _What?_ You’re such an idiot. Don’t call me that!”

Usually, Sapnap lets Dream go whenever Dream pulls away. While he may be the one initiating the majority of their physical contact, Sapnap is quietly attentive to Dream’s boundaries. He’s not bothered if Dream wriggles out of a hug, or drops Sapnap’s hand to gesture more animatedly. This time though, Sapnap holds tight. Dream tries to pull his hand away again, a little more obvious with the motion. 

Sapnap continues grinning up at him, innocent as ever. 

“ _Sapnap!_ ” Dream laughs. He yanks his hand back, but Sapnap holds tight, finally cracking and giggling a little. “Let go!” 

“Nope!” Sapnap says, in the voice that means he’s made up his mind on something and there’s nothing anyone can do to change it. “I’m never letting you go, Dreamy Boy!” 

Dream sighs, rolling his eyes as obviously as he can. It only makes Sapnap giggle harder, and he starts swinging their hands back and forth again. 

There’s a strange warm _thing_ unfurling in Dream’s chest again, though. It’s nice, he thinks, that Sapnap has made up his mind about _him_. Not that Sapnap was being serious. No, Sapnap was just- was just joking. 

But when Dream shoots him a glance, he’s already looking at Dream. His eyes are pinched from how hard he’s smiling. When he sees Dream looking back at him, he squeezes Dream’s hand. Once again, Dream feels like he’s standing on a cliffside. Like he’s dangling his feet over the edge. He feels like this is the cusp of something very important. 

He just wishes he knew exactly what that something _was_.

“You’re such a fucking idiot.” 

It’s the first thing George says when Dream finally cracks and calls him. It’s the middle of the day, and he has the apartment to himself while Sapnap is at work. He spent all night rolling the words _I’m never letting you go_ around in his head and he figured it was time to get a second opinion on what the fuck is wrong with him. 

“Gee, thanks George,” Dream deadpans, pressing his knuckles into his eyes, “You’re so helpful. I’m so glad I called you.” 

George’s sigh crackles through the speaker, “Dream, seriously, this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” 

“Are you going to actually help me, or are you just going to keep insulting me?” 

“I don’t know. Insulting you is pretty fun.” 

“ _George,_ ” Dream snaps. 

“Okay, okay!” George clears his throat like he’s about to bless Dream with some grand, sacred knowledge. “Dream, how do you feel about Sapnap?” 

“What do you mean? He’s my best friend.” 

“I know that,” George’s tone is patient as if Dream is a rowdy child who needs to be calmed down. “But how do you feel about him?” 

Dream frowns, picking at the ragged edge of his thumbnail, “I don’t know. Good? I guess? Living with him is fun. You know how he is, he’s really considerate and understanding. He’s funny.” 

“Okay,” George waits for Dream to continue, but Dream honestly doesn’t know what else there is to say. 

After another beat of silence, George sighs. “You are so oblivious, oh my god.” 

Dream rakes a hand through his hair, “ _What?_ I’m not oblivious! I just don’t know what you want me to say!” 

There’s a distinct sound of something hitting George’s desk over and over again. Dream is pretty sure it’s George’s head. He doesn’t get why George is being so dramatic and cryptic instead of just fucking helping him. It’s starting to get on his nerves. 

“You’re such an _idiot_ ,” George groans.

Dream scowls, “Fuck off, you aren’t even helping me! You’re just being weird!” 

He crosses his arms over his chest, even though George can’t see him, “I’m hanging up on you now.” 

“Dream, don’t you dare-” 

“ _Bye, George!_ ” He hollers, just because he knows George is probably wearing headphones. 

“Oh my god-” 

Dream jabs the end call button on his phone. Fuck George. Why is he even friends with George? George is the worst, and the most unhelpful, and- 

Okay, he’s not actually the worst. But Dream doesn’t feel anymore clearheaded about the situation. If anything, he’s just more confused. 

_How do you feel about Sapnap?_

Why did that matter? Wasn’t it obvious how he felt about Sapnap? They were best friends, roommates. Sapnap was one of his favorite people in the world. 

_How do you feel about him?_

Dream thinks about it, he honestly does. He lays in his bed and watches the ceiling fan spin lazily and _thinks_. 

Sapnap makes him happy, obviously. He’s comfortable around Sapnap, more comfortable than he’s ever been around anyone. But he’s nervous sometimes too because the thought of upsetting Sapnap makes his stomach knot up. Sapnap makes him feel- makes him feel-

He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know how he’s supposed to answer that. It feels like something is just out of reach. Something that’s just too blurry to see. 

Sapnap brings pizza home. When he doesn’t find Dream in the living room, he crashes into Dream’s room with it. They don’t bother moving to the living room. They watch Netflix on his laptop and drip grease onto his sheets, and Sapnap dozes off with his head in Dream’s lap. 

Dream cards his fingers through Sapnap’s hair. He wishes George would’ve just said it, whatever it is he thinks Dream is feeling. Dream thinks it’s one of those things that he needs someone else to say first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late update. im a college student & dealing w some personal issues so updates will probably be every week from now on. anyways here's dream being the most oblivious bitch in the world <3


	5. tarot cards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw for drug use. this whole chapter is just sapnap and dream smoking weed in detail bc im a stoner and i think smoking up the homies is a love language.

“Have you ever smoked?” Sapnap asks. 

Dream tilts his head back, disrupting the fingers carding through his hair. He’s sprawled on the floor, back against the couch. Sapnap is laying above him, twisting his hair into thin little braids. He’s still in his work outfit, and his nametag reflects the light of the TV. The past week, he’s been scheduled shifts nearly back to back, and he looks so tired it’s rubbing off on Dream. The whole apartment feels sleepy and dark in the evenings. 

“What, like drugs?”

Sapnap snorts, mussing the hair that he hasn’t braided, “Yes, Dream, _like drugs_. Have you?”

Dream rolls his eyes, “I think you can guess the answer to that.” 

He turns back to his laptop and idly opens another email. Before he can sink back into work though, Sapnap speaks again. 

“Do you, uh, wanna try?” 

His hand stills in Dream’s hair as if he’s nervous. Like Dream will react badly to him asking. He won’t, of course, he won’t. He knows Sapnap smokes; he’s gotten plenty of calls in the past where Sapnap’s music is turned up too loud and Sapnap takes just a little too long to put his sentences together. Sapnap loved playing Minecraft with him, nights like those. He liked running around and collecting an army of pets while Dream kept the hostile mobs at bay. 

But now, Sapnap is nervous. When Dream looks up, he’s staring determinedly at the TV and gnawing at the inside of his cheek. 

“Uh, sure. Why not, right?” 

“Are you sure?” Sapnap asks.

They’ve moved to his room, situated on the floor next to the window. Dream is fidgeting, twisting one of his hoodie strings around his fingers, while Sapnap packs the bowl. Dream has never seen a pipe before, but Sapnap’s is pretty. It’s glass, swirling with strands of bright red and shimmery yellow. It fits, somehow, the way that everything about Sapnap fits. 

Dream huffs a laugh, “Yes, I’m sure. Dude, you’re the one who offered.” 

“I know!” Sapnap has a small silver grinder, and he turns it between his hands with practiced ease, “I just, like, don’t want you to feel pressured or anything. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” 

“I want to, I promise.” Dream reaches out, catching Sapnap’s sleeve in his hand. He stills seems so nervous, his eyes flickering to everything but Dream. “It’ll be fun, right?” 

Sapnap stares at him for a long, quiet minute. He visibly relaxes, shoulders dropping and eyes going all soft as if Dream has just done something ridiculously endearing. “Yeah, it will be. You’ve really never smoked?” 

“Sapnap, I went to highschool online.”

“Here, hold this,” Sapnap unscrews the grinder, handing Dream half of it. He balances the other half on his knee, and carefully fills the bowl. 

“So, uh,” Dream feels the ridges of the metal between his fingers, “you’re going to have to teach me how this, like, works.” 

Sapnap shoots him a little grin, still hunched over his bowl. “I will, I will. It’s really easy. Here, pass me the lighter.” 

Cool air drifts in through the window. Somewhere on the street below, Dream can hear laughter and the roar of a car engine. He passes Sapnap the lighter and the grinder piece, watching him screw it back together before setting it aside. His movements are sure, steady. It’s almost mesmerizing in a way; Dream’s always liked watching people do what they’re good at. 

Turns out smoking weed is one of the things Sapnap is good at. 

“Okay, c’mere,” Sapnap waves him closer. Dream inches forward a little, but Sapnap rolls his eyes. He wraps his hand around Dreams wrist and pulls, urging him closer until their knee to knee. Dream has to throw a leg over Sapnap’s just so that he can sit comfortably. 

Sapnap laughs at Dream’s confusion, “I’m gonna light it for you. Here.” 

He passes Dream the pipe, and Dream cradles it awkwardly in both of his hands. 

“No,” Sapnap laughs. Dream feels out of his depth, a little lost, but he can’t bring himself to be embarrassed. Not around Sapnap. “Hold it like this-” 

Sapnap cups one hand under Dream’s, showing him how to balance it in one hand. “So that hole on the side clears the smoke. You cover it with your thumb, and I’ll tell you when to let it go, okay?” 

“Yessir,” Dream answers dutifully. He expects Sapnap to let go, but he doesn’t. He keeps his hand, warm and steady, under Dream’s. 

“Okay,” Sapnap flicks the lighter, “Hold the pipe to your mouth and start breathing in.” 

Dream presses the pipe to his lips and takes a deep breath, nearly crossing his eyes to watch Sapnap guide the flame over the bowl. He tastes smoke, thick and hot, and his throat feels like it's on fire. 

After a second, Sapnap says, “Okay, lift your thumb and keep breathing in.” 

He does so, and nearly chokes when he breathes in clean air. He pulls away from the pipe, trusting Sapnap to not let him drop it, as he hacks out a cloud of smoke. 

“The window, dude! Aim for the window!” Sapnap cackles, nudging Dream back towards the window. 

His throat burns, and it feels like he can’t breathe without coughing, “ _Fuck_ , oh my god.” 

“You’re good, you’re good,” Sapnap giggles. He leans in closer to clap Dream on the back, taking the bowl from him. “It gets easier. Here, drink some water.” 

The pipe is replaced with a water bottle, and Dream drinks gratefully. It still takes him a while to stop coughing, but Sapnap waits patiently. 

“Sorry,” Dream rasps. His voice sounds raw and scorched. 

Sapnap waves him off, “You’re good, dude. That’s normal. I thought I was going to die my first time.” 

It’s Sapnap’s turn next, which goes much smoother. He takes a long hit, eyes focused on the flame. Dream notices he doesn’t lift his thumb from the clear, still holding the pipe tight as he exhales out the window. 

“You didn’t clear it.” 

Sapnap shrugs, “It keeps the bowl lit longer when you don’t. Here, try again.” 

They go back and forth like that. Dream takes small, short hits and still coughs on every one. When Sapnap declares the bowl dead and knocks it out on the window sill, his lungs ache a little. 

“How do you feel?” Sapnap asks, peering at him like he’s a lab animal. Dream laughs and shrugs. 

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I feel anything yet.” 

Sapnap nods, “You’ll get there. You smoked enough.” 

Sapnap packs his things away, wrapping the rest of the weed in a ball of tinfoil and tucking it all into a small zippered pouch. He stands, brushing himself off, and offers a hand to Dream. He pulls him up easily, and Dream suddenly feels like the world is tilting on its axis. 

“Oh, woah.” 

Sapnap grins, “There it is. Feel okay?” 

Dream nods, “Yeah, yeah, I-” 

He rubs a hand over his face and it feels weird, different somehow. It feels like he's floating just a little bit above his body. He runs his hands over his arms, hyper-aware of the feeling of his hoodie pressing against his skin. “ _Woah._ ” 

Sapnap laughs again, “Yeah. Come on, let’s go watch something.” 

They end up finding a marathon of The Simpsons. Dream can’t keep up with the plot, but he likes the movement and finds himself laughing at every stupid joke. At some point, they end up sprawled across each other. His head is cushioned on Sapnap’s chest, a heavy arm across his back. He feels warm and floaty like he’s looking at everything out of focus. 

“Dude, you are _zooted_ ,” Sapnap teases, ruffling Dream’s hair. 

Dream laughs, muffled against Sapnap’s shirt, “Fuck off, Sap.” 

He reaches up and slaps weakly at Sapnap’s head, and before he’s even sure of what’s happening, they’re wrestling. Dream yelps as Sapnap takes them tumbling to the floor. There’s no sense to their movements. Dream doesn’t think he could win, not when the best he can do is flail as Sapnap easily pins him down. He ends up on his back, Sapnap holding him down by the shoulders. 

“I win,” Sapnap gloats, and Dream feels like his head is spinning. 

“ _What?_ ‘S not even fair!” Dream exclaims, “You drugged me!” 

Sapnap cackles, and Dream it sets Dream off too. They laugh until they're breathless, and Dream is sure he’d be crying if his eyes weren’t so dry. And then- 

And then, Dream loses the plot for a second. He doesn’t know how they get there but Sapnap is- 

Sapnap is _kissing him._

His lips are warm and damp against Dream’s slack mouth, and he’s still grinning. He can feel Sapnap’s teeth, blunt against his bottom lip. It’s like- it’s like- 

Dream doesn’t know. 

It’s like Sapnap charging at him in the middle of a crowded airport. It’s like Sapnap touching him for the first time, a thousand times over. It’s like Sapnap looking at him as if Dream is his entire world. It’s like the cusp of something important, this wide-open thing they’ve been teetering on the edge of for _months_. It’s like _how do you feel about Sapnap?_ It’s like _maybe this is how it starts-_

And then, between one second and the next, it’s over. Sapnap is pulling back, and his eyes are red-rimmed but clear. He laughs again, softer, and then he’s getting up, stepping away. 

“I’m gonna go smoke another bowl. Do you want any more?” Sapnap asks, casual as can be. 

As if it was nothing.

Dream opens his mouth, closes it again, “No, I’m- I’m good.” 

It comes out dazed and faint, even to his own ears. He watches Sapnap disappear back down the hall, shutting the bedroom door behind him. 

He’s not sure how long he lays there, staring at the ceiling, but he drags himself back onto the couch before Sapnap returns. At some point, his fingers have drifted up to his lips, just resting there. It’s stupid, it’s nearly childish, but he can’t bring himself to stop. 

When Sapnap comes back, he crashes onto the couch next to Dream. He asks if Dream wants to order Chinese food, and Dream nods without really hearing the question. 

Just like that, the moment is gone. It’s everything, and everything and suddenly- 

It’s nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes this was because sapnap showed up on that one tommy stream sounding absolutely fucked zooted


	6. no landing pad

“I really don’t see the problem here, Dream.” 

“ _You don’t see the-_ “ Dream sputters, “George, Sapnap _kissed_ me! On the mouth!” 

George snorts, “Yeah, I know what kissing is.” 

Dream presses his palms against his eyes, “What do I do?” 

“Oh my god, Dream. It’s really not that deep.” 

Dream peeks out from under his hands. George is curled in his computer chair, lit up by the blue light of his screen. He’s got that stupid little scowl on his face, the one he uses when he thinks something is _ridiculous_. 

“What do you mean it’s not that deep? Stop looking at me like that!” 

George sighs then sits up a little. He pulls his chair closer to his desk. “Listen, okay, did it make you uncomfortable?” 

That makes Dream pause. He sits back in his chair, bringing a knee up to his chest, and _thinks_. 

He thinks about Sapnap, about the heavy hands on his shoulders. The overwhelming heat of Sapnap being _right there_. He thinks about the way he was grinning so wide it was hardly even a kiss. Just a press of lips and teeth, and it was warm and it was strange but mostly- mostly it was _Sapnap_. It was just Sapnap.

He hadn’t even considered being uncomfortable. It’s never even crossed his mind. He presses his fingers to his lips, ghosting them over the skin. 

“No, no, of course not,” he admits quietly. 

“Okay,” George nods, “Then what exactly is the problem?” 

“The problem is that-“ 

The problem is that it's Sapnap. His best friend. The problem is that Sapnap is so- _much_. He’s loud and funny and thoughtful and he- 

Sometimes he makes Dream feel like a black hole has opened up in his chest. Sometimes it feels like Sapnap is the only thing that makes Dream, well, _Dream_. Like Sapnap is a fundamental part of him. 

And Sapnap, Sapnap kissed him. Kissed him and then moved on like it didn’t even matter. Like it was nothing. 

Everything and then nothing. 

Dream groans, dropping his forehead against his knee. “I don’t _know_. I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what to _do_ , George.”

His voice is defeated, desperate. He’s embarrassed to realize how upset he sounds. Maybe he’s being dramatic about all of this but it’s- it’s weird. Things are weird right now. He’s never been good at figuring out how he feels about things. He’s never been good with change and this feels like-

This feels like he and Sapnap are inching towards something. Some big inevitable change. 

“Dream, how are you this _dense_?” George mutters, but he keeps speaking before Dream can ask what the hell that’s supposed to mean, “I don’t think you have to do anything. There isn’t really anything to do.” 

“What do you mean?” 

George rolls his eyes, “Well, it obviously didn’t make you uncomfortable. Also, you were both _smoking-_ ” Dream snorts at George’s posh tone, saying the word as if he were a grade school teacher, “so, I don’t know. It was probably nothing. I don’t think you need to overthink it.” 

As much as that comforts Dream to hear, it also makes him feel inexplicably lost, somehow. He doesn’t know why the thought of it being nothing, just some slip up that happened because they were both high, bothers him so much. He tries to shove the feeling down, pushes it towards the far corner of his brain that should basically be labeled _Sapnap_ at this point. 

George clears his throat, “Now that we’re done dissecting your love life, are you going to help me build my XP farm or not?”

“Shut up, you are such an idiot,” Dream scoffs, but he sits upright in his chair and loads up Minecraft. It’ll be nice, anyway, to take his mind off of everything for a while. 

Even if George is an asshole. 

A week later, there’s a planetary alignment. Dream only knows this because he’s gotten on a kick of watching space documentaries. He just thinks it _cool_ , the fact that they live somewhere that is so small and insignificant in the face of the vast and endless universe. There’s something almost therapeutic about the concept. 

It’s the first time since he’s moved that he actually misses Florida. It’d be so easy to go out to the beach and watch the stars, clear and bright. He remembers doing it as a teenager, laying out on a blanket with his friends and making up new constellations. He’d send pictures to Sapnap, shitty blurry ones of his friends crashing into the water and tackling each other into the sand.

Now, he’s trudging up the stairs to the roof of their apartment building. His arms are weighed down with plastic bags, full of snacks and drinks.

“Remind me why I’m the one carrying all of this shit?” Dream huffs, slightly breathless after four flights of stairs. With every step, he’s been cursing the building and its broken elevator. 

“Because I’m carrying the blanket!” Sapnap chirps, both of his arms wrapped around the folded blanket they took from the couch. 

Dream uses his hip to shove the roof door open, and shoots Sapnap a glare, “I really hate you.”

Sapnap only smiles, “No, you don’t.” 

No, he doesn’t. But Sapnap doesn’t need to know that. 

They spread the blanket out on the roof, weighing it down with the small feast they brought with them. It’s not particularly comfortable. Dream can feel gravel digging into his ass, and it’s cold enough that his fingers are already going numb. They aren’t even really that high up. The sky is still hazy with light pollution, hiding most of the stars. 

Sapnap crashes down next to him, drapes an arm across Dream’s shoulders, and all at once, Dream doesn’t mind. He doesn’t mind any of the little issues, doesn’t mind that he’s freezing his ass off. He’s just happy to be here, with Sapnap. Sapnap, who’s smiling so wide that Dream can see the gleam of his teeth in the dark. 

They play music, tinny and crackling through Sapnap’s shitty bluetooth speaker. The snacks are spread over both their legs, and they pass a thermos of cheap vodka back and forth. The alcohol warms Dream up, a white-hot buzz under his skin. It’s not enough to get him drunk, but he feels warm and relaxed. Happy, because he’s always happy around Sapnap. He doesn’t know how to be anything else when they’re together. 

“Should we be able to see the planet thing by now?” Sapnap asks after a while. 

“Uh,” Dream checks the time on his phone, then looks back up at the sky. “Yeah, I think so.” 

Sapnap rubs his nose on his sleeve, “Okay, so where is it?” 

They fall into silence, both craning their necks to scan the sky. All of the stars look the same, honestly, little pinpricks of light that eventually fade into the grey horizon. Dream tries to remember what all the articles said, about how to find it. He’s sure they’re facing the right way, and he’s positive this is the time that it was visible. 

“Dude,” Sapnap deadpans, and Dream laughs. 

“There might be too much light pollution,” Dream offers. 

“ _Dude_ ,” Sapnap whines, “That is so lame.” 

Dream cackles, leaning into Sapnap’s side. “It’s okay. I think it might still be visible tomorrow.” 

“No, but you wanted to see it tonight!” Sapnap exclaims, indignant. He glares at the drink in his hand, “Ugh, I can’t even drive us out somewhere to see it now. I’m sorry, dude.” 

It’s sweet, Dream thinks, that Sapnap is this upset on his behalf. Sometimes when Dream hyper fixates on something, he feels like everyone else is just humoring him. But Sapnap always seems to take an active interest in whatever it is. He’s always the first to ask Dream about any new interest, the first to want to share it with him. He’s one of the only people who actually looks interested when Dream starts on a tangent about astronomy or coding, or whatever it is that keeps his attention for the week. 

“It’s no big deal. At least it’s nice out,” Dream tips his head back, squinting at the stars above them. 

“It’s literally freezing.” 

Dream gives Sapnap a shove, “Shut up! I’m having fun.”

Sapnap huffs but he curls his arm back around Dream, drawing him into the warmth of his coat. For a moment everything is so quiet, Dream is convinced he can hear Sapnap’s heartbeat. He tucks his head against Sapnap’s neck and just- breathes. 

Dream doesn’t know if anything Sapnap did could ever make him uncomfortable. Here, curled into Sapnap’s side, it feels like Sapnap could ask anything of him and Dream would say of course, yes, absolutely. It feels like this is how they’re meant to exist, pressed as close together as possible. 

The thought embarrasses him, because _god_ , they aren’t fucking dating or anything. He presses his burning cheek against Sapnap’s shoulder and is thankful for the dark. 

Sapnap jostles him from his thoughts, “Is that it? Over there?” 

He sits up, dislodging Dream, and points to some random spot in the sky. 

Dream squints, “I can’t even tell where you’re pointing, you idiot.”

“Then look harder, idiot!” Sapnap stands and walks closer to the edge of the roof, still pointing at some undefinable point above them. “Look, right there!” 

And then he climbs onto the ledge of the roof. 

Dream scrambles up, “What the fuck, Sapnap! You’re going to die, get down from there!” 

Sapnap laughs, swinging both his arms out wide to stay balanced, “No, I’m not, dude. This is perfectly safe.” 

The moon is at Sapnap’s back, making him look like a dark silhouette against the city skyline. Even from here, Dream can see the shine of his teeth, the sharp edge of his smile. He’s just so- so- 

“You’re so stupid,” Dream calls, as Sapnap dips one foot over the edge, “Oh my god, you’re going to fucking fall.” 

Sapnap laughs, the sound echoing across the roof, “I won’t, I promise!” 

“Sapnap, come back here,” Dream reaches out a hand, only a few steps away from the ledge now. 

He expects Sapnap to argue with him, to keep wobbling around because he just loves to piss Dream off. Instead, Sapnap sighs and drops his arms. He hops off the ledge, back onto safe ground, and gives Dream a stupid little bow.

“There, happy?” Sapnap asks. Before Dream can answer, he slaps his hand into Dream’s still outstretched palm. 

It’s almost instinctual for Dream to link their fingers. It’s almost instinctual to feel the rough edges of Sapnap’s knuckles with his thumb. Dream doesn’t really know what it is that makes him pull Sapnap close, so close that he can feel the heat radiating off of him, but that feels right too. Sapnap giggles and presses even closer. He stares up at Dream and Dream feels his stomach swoop. 

He thinks, maybe, he’s missing something here. Like maybe something else is supposed to happen, but he hasn’t quite figured out what. 

A voice that sounds a hell of a lot like George pipes up in the back of his head, _It’s probably nothing._

Carefully, Dream extracts his hand from Sapnap’s. He takes a deliberate step back and is immediately colder for it. The wind sweeps in to fill the new space between them, and all at once, he’s shivering. 

Through it all, Sapnap is still staring at him. Watching him with that overwhelming stare, hand still frozen where Dream left it. He frowns, opens his mouth to speak, but Dream beats him to it. 

“It’s cold as fuck out here, dude.” 

The tension in Sapnap’s face evaporates all at once. He huffs, shoving his hands in his pockets, “Yeah, dude, that’s what I’ve been _saying_. Let’s go inside.” 

Sapnap ducks around Dream to get back to their blanket, and Dream is hyper-aware of the distance between them. He stands back for a moment, watching Sapnap gather up their things, and wonders why he feels like he just fucked something up. 

“If anyone asks, though, we totally saw it,” Dream declares, hoping to shake the feeling. 

Sapnap laughs, “Oh, definitely. And it was fucking life-changing.” 

“Life-changing,” Dream repeats. He casts one more look to the sky, watches the stars steady and still and lifetimes away. “Yeah, totally.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy valentines day !! my gift to u is more of dream being the dumbest bitch alive :)


	7. better have said it

Sapnap doesn’t show up for breakfast the next day.

Which isn’t- it’s not a big deal. It’s not. 

Sapnap is an adult. He doesn’t need to show up to breakfast every morning. They never even agreed that breakfast was a scheduled event, or whatever. It was one of those things that just… happened. Something they slipped into without ever discussing it. Sapnap usually didn’t even stay awake after breakfast; he’d slip back into his room for a few more hours of sleep. 

So it isn’t a big deal when Dream walks into the kitchen. It isn’t a big deal that the kitchen is empty and quiet and Sapnap isn’t there. Dream waits for a minute, scrolling absently through Twitter, but he can’t hear the shower running or any other noise coming from the hall. The apartment is deathly quiet, suffocatingly still. 

It’s almost eerie. Dream is used to- well, Sapnap. He’s used to Sapnap being right around the corner, but more often, he’s used to Sapnap being right by his side. Within arms reach. George joked and called them both clingy and, yeah, sometimes they are. Dream didn’t really realize it until now, when Sapnap is only a room away but it feels like miles. 

Dream isn’t so desperate that he’s about to knock on Sapnap’s door. It’s fine that Sapnap doesn’t want to make breakfast with him. He’s been working so many double shifts lately; it makes sense he’d want to sleep in a little. 

So, because he’s a reasonable adult, Dream makes breakfast for himself. There are bacon and eggs in the fridge, but he ends up just pouring a bowl of cereal. He eats it standing at the counter, because right now the living room looks just as empty, just as lonely. 

He forces himself not to retreat back to his room the second he’s done eating. He’s not a child, okay? He can handle being by himself; he’s lived on his own for years. He can be mature about the fact that his best friend skipped breakfast with him for one day. 

Something bumps against his shin, and he grins down at Patches. “Good morning, baby.”

He makes her breakfast and spoils her a little by letting her up on the counter while he prepares her food. Once it’s done, he sits on the floor and watches her eat. 

“Why am I so stupid?” He mutters as if Patches has an answer. Her ears flick, but she doesn’t look up from her bowl. 

He reaches out and runs a hand along her back. That draws her attention enough for her to climb into his lap, kneading at the material of his sweatpants. 

“Be honest with me here, am I overreacting?” He asks, reaching up to rub one of her ears between his fingers. 

Patches stares up at him, then yawns. 

Dream nods solemnly, “Right, I’m being totally ridiculous.” 

Patches seems to tire of the attention and ducks her head away from his hand. Dream returns to petting her back, running his fingers through her fur. 

“I just,” He sighs, “I feel like I fucked something up last night. Do you think he’s mad at me?” Dream asks.

Patches doesn’t answer. Instead, she shakes him off and slinks back to her food bowl. 

Dream watches her eat for another few seconds, and then groans, “God. I’m such a fucking idiot.”

He feels like he’s going to drive himself insane if he doesn’t talk to another human soon. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and opens his texts. 

**dream | 9:15**  
can I call you?

**gogy | 9:16**  
_on the phone w someone rn. later?_

Dream drops his head back against the cabinets, and then finally drags himself to his feet. His back twinges from how he had slumped on the floor, and he rubs at the sore spot above his hip. He leans down to give Patches another pet and then leaves the kitchen and its awful silence. 

As he passes Sapnap’s door, he stops short at the muffled sound of his voice. He pauses to listen, just for a second. He can’t quite make out the words, but it’s- it’s nice. The low warm tone and his familiar, tired laugh. It’s comforting, and some part of Dream immediately relaxes at the sound. 

At the same time, a cold knot begins to form in Dream’s stomach. Because this means Sapnap is awake. He’s not sleeping in. He’s awake and chose not to come to breakfast and now he’s talking to someone and-

And it’s not a big deal. It’s not because it would be ridiculous if it was. Dream is a fucking adult. He understands that Sapnap is allowed to change his routine and do what he wants. He doesn’t owe Dream anything, really. Especially not a notice for when he’s going to be skipping breakfast. It’s not a big deal at all. 

It hurts though, just a little. Stings somewhere between Dream’s ribs. 

Dream crashes into his bed the second he gets back into his room. He curls around his pillow, trying to ignore the anxiety that’s starting to itch just under his skin. 

It’s nothing, he tells himself, over and over again. It doesn’t mean anything. 

But he’s always been good at this, making mountains out of molehills. Something out of nothing. He’s always been good at turning the littlest things into problems of the century and this-

Sapnap is- 

Sapnap is everything. 

Everything and nothing. Everything and nothing. 

He doesn’t see Sapnap all day, which is fine. They have days like that, where they just don’t see each other much. They have very different schedules, and Sapnap usually works all afternoon until the late evening. So, it’s normal, it is. Sometimes they just don’t see each other much. 

Maybe it doesn’t help that Dream spends all day locked in his room. He’s at least getting work done, so it’s not like he’s _hiding._

Around noon, he finally emerges from his room for lunch. He’s exhausted the carton of goldfish that he keeps under his desk, and his water bottle has been empty for at least an hour. In between lines of code, Dream had kept an ear out for Sapnap. Any noise that let him know where Sapnap was, what he was doing. He didn’t know why he was doing it, and he kept trying to make himself stop. But every time there was a noise from across the hall, he’d perk up and listen. He hasn’t heard much from Sapnap in the past hour and deemed it safe to trek out to the kitchen. 

So he wasn’t really expecting to see Sapnap, standing in the kitchen.

He doesn’t notice Dream right away. He’s got Patches cradled in his arms like a baby and has his head ducked towards her. Something is warming up in the microwave, and Sapnap is whispering the lyrics of some song to Patches. It's… _cute_. Objectively adorable. Soft in the way that Sapnap always is; in the way that makes that warm, fond thing unravel in Dream’s chest. 

He lets himself stand there, watching Sapnap from the kitchen threshold, for a few moments. Then, he straightens up and says, “You’re popping off, huh?” 

Sapnap jumps, jostling Patches, who makes an unhappy little sound. He turns to Dream with one of his loose, toothy smiles, “Oh, fuck off. Like you don’t do the same thing when I’m not home.” 

“You don’t wanna know what I do when you’re not home,” Dream winks, ducking around Sapnap to get to the fridge. 

“Dude! You’re such a freak,” Sapnap laughs. He gives Patches another squeeze and then sets her back on the floor. 

At that moment, watching Sapnap laugh, everything feels normal. Dream suddenly feels dramatic and foolish. What was he even upset about? How could he ever worry that something had changed between him and Sapnap? They were best friends.

Neither of them speaks for a while, just existing in comfortable silence. Dream digs around in the fridge for sandwich ingredients, tossing them out onto the counter. Behind him, Sapnap continues humming, and the microwave thrums louder than either of them. 

“Hey,” Sapnap says, in a tone that makes Dream look up. 

“What’s up?” Dream asks, clutching a juice pouch in one hand. 

“I’m, uh,” Sapnap looks away, fumbles with the chain bracelet around his wrist, “I’m sorry for missing breakfast, I-” 

“Oh,” Dream doesn’t know why, but his ears burn, “No, it’s- it’s totally fine, dude. You don’t like, have to if you don’t want to.” 

Sapnap looks up, as if Dreams words startled him, “No, but I- I want to! I like that we- I don’t know,” he turns away again, and his voice becomes much quieter, “I like that we do that.”

Dream stills, one hand on the open fridge door and the other squeezed just a bit too tight around the juice pouch. “Oh,” he says dumbly.

“Yeah.” 

The microwave beeps, jolting both of them. Sapnap scrambles for a moment like he forgot where he was. Dream did too for a second if he’s being honest. He busies himself with closing the fridge and getting a plate, while Sapnap gets his food from the microwave. 

“Okay, uh, I’m actually about to be late for work.” 

Dream turns and tries to give Sapnap a casual smile, “Shit, don’t be late. You won’t get employee of the month.” 

Sapnap grins, nibbling carefully at the corner of his hot pocket. “Fuck off, dude.” 

Sapnap raises his free arm, half-stepping towards Dream. Dream leans in on instinct because Sapnap always gives him a hug before he leaves. But the movement seems to scare Sapnap off. He freezes, arm awkwardly raised, before dropping it again and taking a step back from Dream. 

“I’ll, uh,” Sapnap doesn’t look at him, instead checking that he has everything he needs to leave, “I’ll see you later, man.” 

“O-okay,” Dream blinks. He isn’t sure what just happened, but suddenly the tension is crashing back in on him. That awful, twisting anxiety rising in his stomach. “I’ll uh, yeah. See you later.” 

Sapnap flees the kitchen without another word. He doesn’t look at Dream, and soon the front door is closing and Dream is alone again. 

He stands there, still frozen for a long moment. Then he looks down at Patches, who is already staring up at him. 

“What the fuck is happening?” He asks. Patches, of course, doesn’t give him an answer. 

He wishes someone would. 

The next few days pass in an anxious haze. Dream’s stomach twists itself around everything, to the point where he can barely stand to eat. He feels like his skin is rubbed raw, too sensitive to ever touch. At the same time, he’s painfully aware of every moment Sapnap doesn’t touch him. 

There’s more of those now, Dream is sure, more than there ever has been. Aborted movements out of the corner of his eye, where Sapnap would usually pat his shoulder or ruffle his hair. Even worse are the moments where Sapnap blatantly avoids him, pressing himself against the wall so that Dream doesn’t even brush shoulders with him in the hallway. 

The worst part is, Dream doesn’t know what he did wrong. He combs over every conversation, trying to remember what he could’ve said to start the growing rift between them. 

It scares him, it does. It keeps him up at night. 

He spends more time in his room, throwing himself into his commissions. He calls George and plays Minecraft with Wilbur and Tommy. He doesn’t invite Sapnap, even when George insists, and the space next to him where Sapnap would usually pull up a chair stays mockingly empty. When Tommy asks him what's wrong, in a tone that’s much too serious for his age, Dream says he’s just stressed, just tired, just busy.

It’s not entirely a lie. He is stressed. Is tired. Is busy. 

It would just be easier with Sapnap there. 

He’s up late, again. His eyes burn from staring at his computer screen, and he’s chewed the edge of his thumb raw as he picks through his code for bugs. He’s been working on it all day, and he’s already called George several times to look it over, and he can’t understand why it isn’t fucking working-

The knocking at his door makes him jump, and he winces as his teeth dig too hard into his thumb. 

“Uh, yeah?” he calls. 

Sapnap nudges his door open. He’s dressed like he's about to leave, in a hoodie and jeans, twisting his keys in his hands. “Hey.”

“What’s up?” Dream asks. His mouth is dry, and he feels like all the air has been sucked out of the room. 

Sapnap ducks his head, “I’m gonna, uh, go for a drive.” 

“Oh, cool. Have fun.” 

Dream expects Sapnap to leave, but Sapnap doesn’t move. He stands awkwardly in the doorframe, still fidgeting with his keys. 

“Do you wanna come with?” He finally asks, voice so quiet Dream almost misses it. 

Dream blinks, then smiles. He thinks it’s the first natural smile he’s had in days, settling over his face before he even realizes it’s happening. 

“Yeah, of course. Let me get my shoes.” 

They drive with the windows down, and the music turned up, just like they always do. The cold air burns Dream’s cheeks and makes his eyes water, but he doesn’t want to roll the windows up. The city is dark and quiet, this late at night, so still it feels like they're the only people awake. It’s nice. It feels normal in a way that things just… _haven’t_ lately.

Dream lets himself bask in it, just a little.

Sapnap looks just as content as Dream does. He’s smiling, soft and real, and bobbing his head to the music. He’s steering with one hand, his silver bracelet catching the street lights in bright little bursts. For once, he doesn’t notice Dream staring, so Dream lets himself stare. 

“It’s cold as hell, dude,” Sapnap says, after a while. 

Dream laughs and nods, curling deeper into his hoodie, “We could roll the windows up.” 

“What? No, that’ll ruin the vibe!” 

“The vibe,” Dream repeats, wheezing, “Okay, then what do you want me to do about it, Sap?”

Sapnap shrugs, grinning. It makes Dream laugh again, that stupid little look Sapnap gets sometimes. When he’s just talking because he wants to talk, and wants Dream to talk back. It’s cute. It’s endearing. It’s Sapnap. 

It’s easy here, in the dark space of Sapnap’s car, to let himself have these thoughts. They don’t scare him here when everything is quiet and it’s just them. It’s so much easier here. 

Which is why Dream feels brave enough to reach across the center console, where Sapnap’s hand is resting. He doesn’t quite have the courage to lay his hand over Sapnap’s, but he bumps the edge of his hand against Sapnap’s. He’s expecting the flinch, the way Sapnap is so quick to try and pull away. It makes him feel carved out inside, that this is their new normal. That he’s used to Sapnap pulling away from him. 

This time though, Dream doesn’t let it happen. Before Sapnap can move away, he hooks his pinkie around Sapnap’s own. He keeps his grip loose, gentle, in case Sapnap really does want to move. He watches out of the corner of his eye as Sapnap tenses and gives him an indecipherable look. 

Before Dream can start to regret his decision, Sapnap relaxes all at once. Then, he shifts his hand, turns his palm until he can tangle their fingers together. Sapnap holds his hand, and Dream holds back. 

He doesn’t plan on letting go. Not until he has to at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> v patches-centric chapter todayn<3 anyways how we feeling after that tommy stream gang?

**Author's Note:**

> all chapter titles are from 'greek tragedy' by the wombats. i wrote this for my best friend bc she wanted more sapnap content. and then it kind of got out of hand.


End file.
